Train at Night Painting by Eric Ravilious
Blazing with light, a passenger train crosses a bridge over a country lane, illuminating the dark village for a few moments as a magnificent plume of smoke billows from the funnel. Artist Eric Ravilious was a train traveller both by inclination and by necessity, and here he shows a train from the perspective of the villagers whose streets are dark and whose homes are lit by candles. The artist painted this view in 1935 from the top of the “old hump-backed” river bridge over the River Colne between Castle and Sible Hedingham. At this time Ravilious was living in Castle Hedingham with his wife Tirzah, and this painting is one of a series featuring scenes from his life in Essex.